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International News

‘Cascade of Calamities’ Plagues Tokyo’s Olympics Ambitions

Masayoshi Son, the billionaire founder and top executive of SoftBank Group Corp., criticized the push to hold the Olympics while Hiroshi Mikitani, billionaire founder and CEO of online retailer Rakuten Group Inc., compared them to a “suicide mission.”

The Asahi newspaper, a sponsor of the games, called in an editorial Wednesday for Suga to make the decision to cancel the games.

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Dutch court orders Shell to deepen carbon cuts in landmark ruling

At a court room in The Hague, judge Larisa Alwin read out a ruling which ordered Shell to reduce its planet warming carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels.
Shell immediately said it would appeal the court ruling, which comes amid rising pressure from investors, activists and governments on energy companies to shift away from fossil fuels and rapidly ramp up investments in renewable energy.

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Cyber crime is growing risk to bank ratings: S&P

Cyber attacks can harm credit ratings mainly through reputational damage and potential monetary losses, it said in a report titled ‘Cyber Risk In A New Era: The Effect On Bank Ratings.’

“Cyber attacks have had only a limited effect on bank ratings to date but can trigger more rating actions in the future as cyber incidents become more frequent and complex,” said Credit Analyst Irina Velieva.

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Australian general insurers welcome `Bushfire Funding’, say Tax Rise ‘Unsustainable

The federal government’s allocation of A$1.2 billion (US$931 million) over five years to improve Australia’s capability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters and now the Victorian government’s A$517 million investment in bushfire specific resilience initiatives will protect communities vulnerable to the impact of extreme weather and natural disasters,the ICA said in a statement.

“This welcome news is tempered, however, by the Victorian budget’s projections that revenue from insurance stamp duty will increase by almost one-third over the budget estimates, rising 29% from A$1.517 billion in 2020-21 to A$1.959 billion [US$1.519 billion] in 2024-25,” the ICA explained.

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Biden doubles U.S. spending on preparations for extreme weather

The $1 billion will help communities prepare for hurricanes, floods and wildfires, with a portion allotted specifically to disadvantaged communities, the White House said.

It said the United States had 22 separate weather- and climate-related disasters in 2020 costing a total of nearly $100 billion in losses.

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Africa Specialty Risks unveils Parametric Underwriting Division

Mikir Shah, CEO of ASR, commented: “The establishment of the parametric division demonstrates our commitment to de-risking investment and increasing resilience across the African continent. Our vision is to unlock greater and more streamlined protections for insureds, ensuring that inward investment in Africa continues to boost economic activity and growth on the continent, via the integration of innovative, technological solutions. 

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